The F-16 flown by a seasoned fighter pilot disappeared from radar at 1:43 pm on June 4, remains of the aircraft have been discovered in mountains of New Taipei

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – During flight exercises on Monday, June 4, a Taiwanese fighter pilot flying an F-16 crashed in the mountains of northern Taiwan.

An F-16 fighter that took off from an air force base near in Hualien at 1:19 p.m. disappeared from radar at 1:43 p.m. The remains of the jet, piloted by Major Wu Yanting(吳彥霆), have reportedly been discovered scattered around Wufen Mountain (五分山) in New Taipei City, close to Keelung.

After the radar signal was lost, a search party was immediately organized and dispatched to search the high altitude mountainous region. Parts of the single seat fighter were first discovered and confirmed at approximately 2:39 in the afternoon, reports CNA.

Some pieces of the aircraft have been located, and a search is being conducted to find all of the components and the pilot. The range of the search area will cover 21 square miles, according to sources from the Ministry of National Defense.

Major Wu was a 2009 graduate of the Air Force Academy, and had logged 736 hours flying the F-16.

June 4 was the first day of Taiwan’s annual live-fire Hankuang military exercises.